


The Replacement

by CaptainnAustralia



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-16
Updated: 2011-12-16
Packaged: 2017-10-27 10:05:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/294548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainnAustralia/pseuds/CaptainnAustralia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So this is AFTER Jason comes back to life and then tries to kill the Joker, slightly AU-ish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“One…”_

 _He wouldn’t choose._

 _Of course he wouldn’t choose. And least of all why would he choose_ me _. He has a Robin now, a better Robin; a smarter Robin._

 _“Two…”_

 _Really, it’s not that hard. I was dead for so long – this would barely be a blip on his radar. He didn’t kill the bastard when I_ was _dead_. _Now he has to choose between us – the man who killed me and the boy who he let die. And he’s going to let him_ live.

 _“Three…”_

 _Movements were quick. It was so underhanded of him, using the batarang to cut the rope. But something fell, fast and heavy. There was a stinging pain in my neck – he didn’t choose me. He_ injured _me. The bastard slipped from my grip, hitting something… bombs. He had bombs._

 _The world exploded._

He gasped back into life, swallowing at the air as though he’d never get another chance to breathe. It took him a while to remember where he was before he leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.

It’s stupid, having nightmares. Nightmares that made your throat close around your heart when it jumped up, beating wildly. They were so debilitating. Weak.

But he took some solace – at least it wasn’t of the crowbar again.

He looked around, blinking and waiting for reality to fully set in.

He was back in the manor. Back in the STUPID GOD DAMN FUCKING WAYNE MANOR.

He wanted to badly to get out of this house. He hated it with a passion.

 _“Whadya mean, ‘I’m staying’?” I growled. Who the hell did he think he was?!_

 _“You’re staying. Here, in the manor.”_

 _“Oh hell no. I’m out of here.”_

 _“You can’t get out.”_

 _“What, you think being_ dead _at some point stops me from remembering all the secret passages out of this house?” I snorted and sneered, already starting across the room to leave._

 _“No, I don’t. You’re going to stay put because that thing around your wrist will pump 300 volts into you if you step out the front door.” I froze._

 _Bastard._

It didn’t matter how many times he woke up here he would STILL hate it. Ghosts of memories long dead. But it wasn’t just the memories that made him hate this place.

It was the things he  _didn’t_  recognize. New things, new details, and new  _people –_ he hated the new as much as he hated the old. He hated everything about this house.

 _The batcave is still the same then – big, endlessly big, full of things and yet totally empty. He landed before me in complete silence, a suit so like my own, but different. I didn’t get a word out. I was bleeding, bruised, wet, and the kid was standing before me like a defiant kick in the face._

 _The new Robin._

 _Timothy Drake._

 _I’d never seen him before – I’d heard of him, planned on going to pay him a visit, to show him what a_ real _Robin was like. But I’d run out of time. I’d needed to confront Bruce first, my time was short. But here he was, pulling himself to full height, flawless in his Robin costume._ My _Robin costume. Sure, it had some little differences, but it was still_ mine _. He turned his gaze on me and it was cold. Empty. Void._

 _“Tim. This is Jason.”_   _Eyes widened beneath the mask for just a moment and they sparked with something – but it was gone before I could recognize it, so quick it might have even been a trick of the light._

 _“Todd?” He questioned, but there was no surprise in his voice._

 _“Yes.”_

 _“Should I alert Alfred?”_

 _“I already have. A room’s been set up.” That was it. He turned his head ever so slightly to show his disinterest._

 _“I’m heading out on patrol now. Specific areas or general?”_

 _“General, I’ll run specifics later.” Tim nodded curtly at Bruce, turned sharply without giving me a second glance and made his way to one of the caves exits. I felt a light shove on my shoulder._

 _“Come on. Move.”_

He let out an angry breath and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His legs, chest and shoulders ached from the fall into the harbour, the bandage on his neck thick and ridged. His lip stung from where he’d split it and he could feel a bruise rising over his chin.

Just like old times.

There was no chance of him going back to sleep. He slipped out of the bed, rubbing at an eye as he padded down the familiar hall. Maybe he could get something to drink. Something  _strong._  He passed through the empty lounge room, cast into dark shadows.

 _“Taking the night off once and a while isn’t a crime, Jason.” My nose was red and stiffly, eyes watery from the cold. Bruce leaned on the back of the couch and smiled down at me softly, a real smile, the kind that made me feel like he was actually glad I was there, like he cared that I was still around._

 _“So what are we watching?”_

Jason shook his head bitterly, widening his step to get out of the room faster.

Just more ghosts.

“Damn it,” Jason froze as the voice carried out from around the corner, continuing with a string of profanities.

“Come on Lil’ Bird, wouldn’t Brucey be ashamed to hear that coming out of your mouth?” Jason’s breath caught in his throat.  _Dick_.

“Dick? What are you doing here?” Tim sounded just as surprised as Jason.

“Don’t play coy Timmy boy, you know. He’s here.”

“Gee, and I thought you’d come back to see me. What a disappointment.” There was a light crashing sound and Jason peeked around to see Tim leaning against the bench, clutching his side with a determined expression.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Real observant.”

“Let me-” Dick was stepping closer to Tim, suddenly in Jason’s line of sight. He looked… the same. A little older, a little more tired, like Bruce seemed to get after a long week. But still Dick.

“I got it Dick. Go find Jason.”

“God you’re stubborn. Just let me help you.”

“I don’t  _need_  your help.”

“Tim…”

“Seriously Dick. Go. I got this – I have reports to fill out and everything, just… go.” Jason listened to Dick letting out a long breath and ducked around a corner until his footsteps passed. He wasn’t ready to face Dick yet. He wouldn’t know what to say to him. But when he was gone Jason ducked back, leaning against the doorframe and relishing in the view for a moment.

Timothy Drake, the great and emotionless boy, the perfect replacement, was struggling. He was struggling to clean the sharp wound over his ribs, wincing as he dabbed at the deep cut. His cape was lost over the back of a chair, shirt resting a top it. He couldn’t see Jason in the shadow of the doorway.

Jason smirked to himself; the little titch was cleaning the cut and then realized with a downhearted expression that the bandages were at the top of the cupboard, and he just couldn’t reach. For a second Jason was sure Mr. I-don’t-need-your-help was going to try and get them anyway. But he just leaned against the bench, holding the gauze over his cut and sucking in short, shallow breaths, his eyes closed tiredly.

Something clenched in Jason’s stomach. He didn’t like this anymore.

Silently he moved through the kitchen and grabbed the bandage. Tim was out of it – really out of it. He had dark circles under his eyes and when Jason stopped in front of him, he could  _see_  the scars this time, the healed ones that were dotted with fresh bruises and, obviously, a new addition. Tim didn’t even notice when Jason’s shadow before him blocked out the light. He might have even fallen asleep standing up.

Jason’s hand snapped out and smacked him lightly over the side of the head.

“Ow!” Tim blinked, an indignant hand flying to the side of his head. He froze when he recognized Jason, his mouth forming a little ‘O’ shape as he stared up at him.

“Shoulda accepted Dick’s offer,” Jason said with a sly grin, tapping Tim lightly on the forehead with the bandage, “I’m not as gentle.”

Tim didn’t say anything when Jason moved closer, pulling away the gauze and looking at the wound. It wasn’t too bad – it wouldn’t need stitches at least. He pressed the gauze back lightly and pulled off a long strip of the sticky adhesive bandage to place over the gauze.

“There.” Jason said, tapping it lightly when he was done and making Tim wince.

“I could have handled it.” Tim said instantly, frowning. Jason just shook his head with a chuckle. This kid…

“It doesn’t hurt to ask for help sometimes.”

“I prefer to be self-sufficient.” Something struck Jason deep in his chest at the look on Tim’s face and he felt his expression go cold.

“So did I.” He turned sharply, tossing the rest of the bandage over his shoulder and listening to it land heavily on the bench and felt the reason he’d  _enjoyed_ seeing the little brat struggle float up in his chest.

Tim was his replacement – better, smarter, more efficient, perfectly carved in the manner Bruce wanted.

And he was still gonna get himself killed.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason has just about decided he hated this Timothy Drake kid.

Confined to the house by Bruce’s  _intensely_  irritating trick bracelet, Jason rapidly grew bored. It took him all of three seconds to test the thing, but he got a sharp shock when he so much as opened the front door and that was warning enough.

He worked out. He ate. He slept. He trashed the lounge room. He cleaned the lounge room under Alfred’s glaring watch. He explored the batcave’s new additions.  He revisited the batcave’s old additions. He sparred with Dick, when the ass bothered to show up and offer some stress relief. He shot things. He tried on his old robin costume – it was a bit tight. It felt like it was suffocating him. He couldn’t get it off fast enough.

The point was he’d done everything under the sun that he could in this damned house and he was  _still_  bored.

By this point, Tim was really starting to bother Jason. Tim could leave the house but barely ever did, remaining shut away in his room, visible only by the glow of a laptop when he wasn’t hiding under mountains of paper. Didn’t pop out for so much as a breath of fresh air, unless you counted suiting up for a formal party, becoming Robin for patrol or going to school – the boy was like a robot, a machine, perfectly curved and crafted. It was like Dick knew Jason was curious.

 _“He has to be perfect.” Dick said as we watched. Tim was practicing throwing something, attempting to hit a miniscule target from an impressive distance._

 _“Why?” I asked without hesitation as Tim moved to collect several of the small shiny objects he’d been throwing._

 _“Personal stuff.” I snorted in response. It probably sounded rude and Dick glanced at me disapprovingly, but really._

 _“Personal stuff. Just another fucked up family member, eh?” Dick chose not to comment, looking away sharply._

 _“Yeah. I guess.” Dick stood stiffly, moving out of the cave. I wasn’t ready to go yet. I wanted to see if the replacement was really as good as everyone whispered.  When Tim finally landed the mark, a good ten minutes later, I felt the overwhelming urge to clap, or whistle, but instead I just leaned forward on my knees and watched for Tim’s reaction._

 _Nothing._

 _He just kept throwing, like he hadn’t noticed that the mark had landed. I was literally holding my breath, waiting for him to notice, to_ react _. But he didn’t. He just kept going – landing more and more until there was a pile up and he couldn’t possibly hit the target any more. He collected his weapons wordless and put them in a small bucket off to the side. He looked over then and I could see it in his eyes._

 _No pride. No accomplishment._

 _Cold._

 _Empty._

He’d manage to talk Tim into sparing with him just the once; although… talk was the wrong term. Baited would be more fitting. Jason didn’t know why when he saw Tim preparing to go one-on-one with a still boxing bag he’d offered up the chance for the replacement to take on his superior. He guessed it was because really he just wanted an excuse to punch the boy square in the nose and call it ‘training’. Just to make him  _react_.

 _I rolled, catching myself and flinging back to my feet. Damn it._

 _He was good._

 _He danced back a little, lips quivering with a smile._

 _“Getting rusty in your old age?” He taunted. I stand a little straighter, rolling my shoulders and listening to them crack dramatically._

 _“I won’t go easy on you_ baby bird _.” I mocked. He flinched – it was barely perceptible, just a slight tightening of the eyes. He didn’t like be mocked. He didn’t like being called a baby._

 _“I’m not asking you to.” I couldn’t help but smile. He was irritated. I was making him irritated. The thought actually made me laugh._

 _“Well come on then,” I indicated at him with a long forefinger, “come at me, kid.” And he did._

 _It was like fighting with a wild animal and a machine all at one. Perfectly collected, cool, calm, strategic; but savage, unrelenting,_ deadly _– no wonder Bruce liked him. It made my breath catch._

 _We went all out. Technically it was against the rules to do that, to fight so hard. We were gonna kill each other. Probably would have if Bruce and Dick hadn’t walked in. I had him pinned. So close… I was winning and he let out a funny little sound that made me laugh; sounded like victory._

 _Then Dick was grabbing me, pulling me up, and shouting something while Bruce scolded us both. But I wasn’t paying any attention to them. I was watching him._

 _I could see him over Dick’s shoulder, standing slowly. He was grinning, wiping the blood from his mouth and fucking grinning like a crazy person. These eyes… these eyes were different. I could see it. The way he licked a bloody lip and stared, eye glittering mischievously. He_ wanted  _this. He_ craved _it._

 _Under the surface Timothy Drake was feral._

Jason was banned from fighting Tim after that, and vice versa. Jason made a show of pouting, like Bruce had taken his favourite toy but Tim, perfect soldier boy Timothy, just accepted it with a polite smile and a quick nod. By Jason had seen what Tim kept so perfectly locked away and he wanted  _in_.

Jason didn’t call him Tim anymore; he kept Baby Bird, pressing as much mocking as he could into the nickname, watching as every time he said it Tim’s eyes got a little tighter, his lips pressing into a fine line. He enjoyed watching Tim’s back muscles get tenser and tenser when he could hear Jason approaching and it was _thrilling_  to know that he had that much power over the younger boy, the power to make his entire body tense just with his presence.

He wanted to make Tim break, to snap, to fly of the handle and really let loose.

He wanted to watch Tim crumble and fall.

He want to force Tim to  _feel_.

*****************************************

 _“This is going to hurt you a lot more than it does me!”_

 _No!_

 _Pain. Sharp, fast, repetitive._

 _HELP!_

 _Breaking._

 _Snapping._

 _Bleeding._

 _HELP ME SOMEBODY!_

 _Cackling laughter, its high pitched, it’s tearing at my ears._

 _HELP, PLEASE!_

 _My arms move to defend, to shield, but there’s just more pain, more breaking, the ripping of skin under sharp corners, the shattering of bone under fast, heavy metal._

 _PL-PLEASE NO, NOT AGAIN!_

 _Curling into a ball, ducking a head, please, stop, everything is breaking, everything is shattering, I’m on fire, I can see my blood, I can feel it, please make it stop, just please!_

 _No-one can hear me. I’m screaming so loud my throats going to give out and no-one can hear it. I’m going to die._

“Jason?”

 _Another cackle, kicking now, not to cause pain, to roll me, he wants to beat in both sides, tenderize the meat, crack the ribs until they break and cave, until there’s no more air for me to scream with. I strike out, it’s instinctive, even though there’s nothing to hit, just blackness and head and pain. Something solid grabs my hand in the dark._

“Jason!”

 _He’s hurting me, I’m dying, I can’t be saved, I’m dy-_

“JASON!” _Something is shaking me, hard, rocking my whole body. I can feel it through the beating, through the pain, it hurts but it’s shaking me harder._

“WAKE UP!”

Jason’s eyes snapped open, shooting wide and frantic and he flew upward, barrelling into whatever had been shaking. He hit warmth, comfortable and smooth, a constricting hold wrapping around him. He should have felt trapped, claustrophobic – he should have memories of crawling from his grave at the tightness – but he didn’t. He clung to the warm, trying to bury himself in it, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

He was so weak.

Pathetic.

Scared and broken, forever marred.

It was a person – someone else was there, witnessing his pitiful inability to calm down. He was beyond caring. Like a child he allowed himself to be pulled into a lap, to have soothing circles rubbed into his back, to have his hair patted and soft words murmured in his ear. He just clung to them, needing it, to be grounded, to be forced into this reality and kept there.

The world slowly came into focus, the burning and the pain ebbing away into the dull ache of memory. He didn’t let go of his saviours chest and they kept thin and deceptively strong arms wrapped tightly around him. Jason ducked his head, unwilling to look up, to  _know_  who was there. There weren’t many possibilities.

A thumb rubbed at the back of his neck, massaging at tight muscle, willing him to relax.

“Just a dream Jay, s’okay, I got you,” the voice whispered. Jason willed himself not to place it to a face. He didn’t want to know. He simply leaned heavier into the chest, closing his eyes and trying not to see a laughing clown or a falling crowbar. The voice seemed to chase that away, running smoothly on a repeated cycle of pointless words, his back slowly loosening out.

He didn’t want to go back to sleep. He knew that going to sleep would just bring out the nightmares again and he wasn’t ready to face that. He was already tensing just at the thought of it.

“Go to sleep Jay, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here, no-one will get you, and you’re safe okay? Safe.”

Safe.

His muscles relaxed automatically and his eyelids dropped again, exhausted from the sheer terror of his last attack. He wasn’t sure if he could actually escape the nightmares again. Whoever it was that was holding him would probably say anything to get him to stop his quiet whimpering and light shaking.

But you know what? Jason believed him.

****************

It was weird.

Jason felt… good. Rested.

It wasn’t like he’d been waking up every morning exhausted but… the nightmares took their toll. Once he was up, he was up and the thought of facing another nightmare often chased any thought returning to sleep from his mind. He could normally catch a nap here or there on the couch or during one of his many fits of boredom, but it didn’t really replace a long, uninterrupted sleep which Jason was about 90% he’d just experienced.

The problem was  _something was breathing on him_.

Not just a little either. In his FACE kind of breathing. To the point that their face was resting ON his face, noses bumping. His eyes snapped open, an argument already formed in his sleep drugged mind. Really this was just ridiculous, who has such little respect for personal spa-

 _Tim._

Timothy Drake. Timothy Drake was  _in his bed_. Laying so close that they’re faces were  _physically touching_. Laying practically on top of him, a hand pressed into his hair – and Jason was holding back, with one arm curled up and around Tim’s head, clinging into the black mess, Tim laying lightly onto of the arm like a pillow. Lower, Jason’s other hand curved around Tim’s hip as if to pull him closer, like the intensely personal contact they already maintained wasn’t already close enough, Tim’s own spare arm curling under where his tiny chest not laying on Jason to rest against Jason’s side.

Jason froze and he remembered.

Someone stopped the nightmares.  _Tim_  stopped the nightmares.

Under any other circumstance, with any other person, this type of hold would have been romantic, passionately intimate and sickeningly cute.

But this was Tim.

Jason just continued staring, eyes wide, at Tim’s closed lids. He could see Tim’s eyes flickering beneath the thin skin, lost in dreams of his own. His lips were parted slightly, moving with unspoken words.

What the  _fuck_  does he do?!

There was no way of moving that wouldn’t wake Tim up. Waking Tim up would mean he would have to talk to Tim, that they’d have to talk about what was happening, about the nightmare, about the clearly inappropriate touching, about th-

Then Tim whimpered.

Whimpered, like a small animal that someone had kicked; his face tightening, his lips snapping closed into a tight line, his hand tightening in Jason’s hair to almost painful levels. Jason moved instinctively, pressing his forehead to Tim’s and using the hand on the younger boy’s hip to do exactly what he had been disturbed by earlier and pulling him closer.

“Dreams Baby Bird, all dreams, you got me, I got you.” The words left his mouth before he could stop them, softer then he’d ever spoken, comforting and true. He couldn’t even manage to fit the smallest amount of mocking into the automatic nickname, instead wrapping it in soothing warmth he wasn’t accustom to using. He closed his eyes and hoped that Tim wouldn’t wake. The hand loosened when he spoke, the taunt muscles under Jason’s hand relaxing.

Jason held his breath.

He thought that it had been thrilling to know he could irritate Tim just by approaching him, but the feeling that surged through him when he realized he could calm Tim from a panic with just a few short words? It was impossible to put a name to, but it made him… hungry and full at the same time. Fulfilled and longing. Like someone had taken the entire contradictions one person could feel and piled them into his stomach so that they could explode and tear at a flesh cage.

Tim made another soft sound, this one more content, more of a sigh, and Jason let up the tightness of his grip, but made no effort to otherwise move his forehead from Tim’s, or get up. He just waited.

It was the simplest and kindest method really. Ten minutes past before Jason felt Tim stiffen like he had, but he kept his eyes closed and fought to keep his breathing even, faking a decent sleep. He knew Tim would know it was a fake. He knew that Tim would know that Jason knew that Tim knew he was faking.

Tim held still for a little while, testing the waters, before slowly trying to pull away. Jason made it simple, forcing his hands to fall away from the smaller form as it slipped from his grip.

Tim might have known he was awake. But he certainly didn’t act it. He pulled the covers over Jason after he slipped out of them, tucking him in like a child, pushing a scratchy fringe off his forehead and patting his shoulder lightly before ducking, silent as only a Robin could be, out the door. 


	3. Chapter 3

No repeat performances.

He was an  _idiot_. He really was. But… he’d wanted this, right?

He’d told himself that there would be no repeat performances of… well, whatever had happened the night before. He’d gone out of his way to taunt Tim, to sneer and tease and call him Baby Bird without a single strand of warmth, twisting back into an insult. He wanted Tim to hate him. It made breaking him easier.

Because Jason  _still_  wanted to break Tim. It was all he wanted, to crack through that shell and poke and prod at whatever it revealed. He could see Tim getting more and more frustrated, counting slowly to ten whenever Jason did something annoying.

Jason didn’t want frustration.

He wanted  _anger_. He wanted the rage, the wild, uncontrollable creature that purred through Tim’s eyes, that made him look like a kid in a candy store when he arrived home from patrol dripping in someone else’s blood.

He wanted to know what it was that made Tim whimper and pull at him like he had, what in Tim’s mind made him scared like that.

So he pushed and pushed and tried all the buttons he could think of. He was a _dick_. He said downright painful things just to see if he could get Tim to reveal a little bit of that angry little person inside. And now he was paying for it.

No repeat performances.

It was two am and he was afraid to close his eyes. He was staring at the illumination of his clock, reminding him that it really was time he went to sleep, but he couldn’t do it. He’d napped for a little while earlier and woken up sweating and shaking and clawing at his sheets – he’d been trapped, suffocating, he needed to get out. He’d torn the sheets. Alfred would be pissed.

He was still shaking a little, curled into a ball. How pathetic was that; in a freakin’ _ball._  His nightmares had started early tonight and this time there was nobody there to help chase them away. He’d deliberately pushed at Tim. He didn’t want the boy returning to watch him being pitiable; he didn’t want to prove to him that Tim was obviously a better Robin anyway, because he wasn’t as damaged at Jason. But laying in the dark and waiting for more monsters to attack… Jason greatly regretted this decision.

The door creaked, but he ignored it, pulling tighter into his little ball, arms around his legs and chin pressed against his knees and squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe he could just shut out the world. Maybe he could just… disappear. Who would miss him? He’d been dead before.

The bed dipped and he heard it more than felt it, curled in the corner like he was. A hand touched his shoulder lightly.

“Jay?” He stiffened under the hand.  _Tim_.

“I know you’re awake. It happened again didn’t it?” He didn’t say anything.

 _This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening and he’d going to go away._

He didn’t. Jason felt something long and warm curve around him, one arm slipping under his head and the other wrapping around his middle, moist breath on the back of his neck slightly faster than calm.

Jason relaxed despite himself, moulding against Tim’s warm form. It was like the warmth worked as a blanket, pulling over him and making him instantly sleepy.

No repeat performances… after tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was really getting sick of this. He tapped his fingers on the matrass impatiently, looking from the clock to the door. Midnight. It was midnight and he was  _tired_  and he knew Tim was home from patrol.

Tim never came to bed before two.

This annoyed Jason.

Not just because he was guaranteed to get no sleep until Tim slid in beside him, but because regardless of what time Tim found himself in bed, he was always up by six thirty, except on Sundays, when he ‘relaxed’ and stayed in until seven. It made Jason… uncomfortable. Tim wasn’t getting enough sleep – you could see it in his eyes, and around them with the bags.

With a frustrated sigh Jason pulled himself out of bed and did something that he hadn’t once done since this whole stupid arrangement had started. He went looking for Tim.

It had been two whole weeks since the first night. In the day, Jason was cruel, an ass, downright horrible – but it didn’t matter what he did, or what he said, or if by some misfortune one of the small pebbles Jason had been purposely missing Tim with struck home and drew blood. Every night Tim would come up to his room, wrap him up and keep the nightmares away. Jason hadn’t had a nightmare since this had begun.

It was stupid to deny that Jason wasn’t reliant on Tim now. He couldn’t sleep unless the little freak was there curled up next to him. On some level he hated being so dependent on someone else. Gun to his head he had to admit… it was nice having something he could be sure of.

 _The door clattered open but I didn’t bother looking up from my book. It was nearly two. It was him. There was clattering and soft thumps as he unceremoniously ditched the robin suit in a trail along the floor until his legs hit the edge of my bed and he fell forward into the soft covers and lay there, completely unmoving and only in his underwear. I rolled my eyes at him, pulling the book on the side table. He didn’t comment that I’d been waiting up._

 _“Baby Bird, what_ are _you doing?”_

 _“Ghhhhhhhmmmmm.” Really, how could I not laugh at him for that? I poked his bare side lightly and he shied away._

 _“You gonna put on some clothes?”_

 _“No. Not moving. Ever.” I knew that was a lie, that in exactly four and a half hours he’d pull himself out of bed, pick up his discarded suit and fold it up neatly before getting in the shower. I couldn’t let him sleep in just his tighty whities – although I could save the information that he was wearing them for merciless teasing later – so I stood, grabbing the first thing I could reach from the cupboard. He made small sounds of protest as I pulled an old hoodie over his head but slipped his arms through all the same._

 _“Better?” I asked, shaking my head at him. He caught my arm and tugged hard, sending me off balance and tumbling into the matrass. He was crawling over me before I had the chance to protest, laying on my chest in the way he did only when he was really tired. He tucked his head under my chin, long arms stretching past my head. He was unnervingly light, his full weight on my chest hardly hindering my breath. I was his matrass. I folded my arms behind his back and lost a small battle which left our legs inexplicably tangled._

 _“Much.”_

He didn’t know what to make of this weird ass thing they had going. It was… strange.

Jason wanted Tim to break but he didn’t like seeing Tim  _broken_. His strict emotions were Jason’s personal playground but physically, having Tim crawl into bed with bandages and bruises, watching him wince when Jason pulled him close – Jason was  _not_ okay with that. He didn’t like seeing his baby bird bent out of shape. He didn’t like the feel of gauze under his fingers as he traced Tim’s frame. It wasn’t too bad when he rubbed at the back of Tim’s neck and the boy sighed and relaxed against him, drooping into sleep, but he hated the fact that if he pushed his hand so much as an inch lower, it would meet heavy bandages that coated the cuts from Ivy’s vines.

Jason had also developed a very strange problem. He liked seeing Tim’s reactions to things. Scaring him in the hall, trying new foods, what he’d do if Jason ‘accidentally’ disabled the internet. And the more times Jason woke up with Tim’s hand pushed under his shirt and against bare skin, or his face buried so tightly into Jason’s shoulder that he was literally sleeping lips pressed to Jason’s collarbone, the more times Jason was tempted to test Tim’s other reactions. He started to wonder what Tim would do if Jason touched him  _properly_ , if he woke up to Jason’s hands under his clothes or Jason’s lips against his skin. How Tim would react if Jason kissed him.

The more he thought about it the more tempting it became. Because it was like a whole new field of possibilities – he could break Tim in other ways. More than once thoughts of holding Tim down, watching him squirm under skilled hands had filled Jason’s mind. He could make Tim blush and gasp and moan and fidget and  _beg_ and those thoughts alone made him need a cold shower. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted it and the more he wanted it, the more difficult it became to wake up with Tim on top of him. 

He pushed open the door to Tim’s room without knocking, letting it bang loudly as he did so. Tim was so engrossed in his work that he actually jumped.

“Jesus Todd! Learn to knock!” He snapped angrily, glaring unhappily. Jason didn’t reply to that. He just walked over to Tim and pull the chair away from the desk, grabbing at the laptop.

“He-” Tim moved to grab the laptop from Jason’s hand but he caught the smaller boy around the middle, hoisting him unceremoniously over his shoulder and starting out of the room.

“What the fuck?! Put me down!” Tim twisted in a manner would shouldn’t have been possible from Jason’s grip but he refused to let up. Tim struggled and squirmed, but after a few steps it was only half-hearted. Jason kicked the door closed behind him, dropped the laptop on the desk and crushed Tim to the bed, laying over him to keep him down.

“Jason! Get off!”

“Nah, comfy.”

“I was talking to Kon, Jay. If I just stop responding he’ll get worried.” Something about that rubbed Jason the wrong way and he sat up a little, propping himself up on his elbows and glaring down at Tim.

“I don’t care about the damned super. It’s late, I’m tired and  _you_  haven’t been to bed before two in weeks. You’re going to sleep and you’re not getting up at the freakin’ crack of dawn tomorrow, you’re gonna sleep in until an ungodly hour and then you’re gonna stay in bed for the rest of the day.”

“I have school tom-”

“You’re skipping it.”

“I have a te-”

“You’re. Skipping. It.” Tim stared back up at him, not speaking for a long while. Jason nodded as though this was some kind of response and then fell back against him, wrapping him up in a restricting grip and rolling slightly so that he wasn’t completely crushing Tim. He felt hands curl around his neck.

“Jay?” He looked down at Tim, who stared back under thick lashes.

“Whaddya want baby bird?”

“When are you gonna kiss me?” All the air left his lungs like he’d been punched in the gut, his eyes shooting wide and his mouth falling open.

“Yo-you want me to  _kiss_  you?” The arms around his neck twisted and tightened and Tim looked away.

“Yeah. Maybe,” and suddenly his eyes were back and Tim was staring at him intently, eyes locking tightly and shining with worry, “why? Do you… don’t you want to?” Jason swallowed, his adam’s apple clicking and a tongue flicking out to lick his lips. Fuck.

He ducked his head, swift and well-aimed, pressing his lips against Tim’s. He wanted to groan, but held it back – it was better than he thought it would be, his mind a poor substitute for the real thing. He held the kiss, waiting for Tim’s reaction. His arms twisted, nimble hands twisting into Jason’s hair and pulling closer and Jason’s eyes sunk closed, savouring it. Too soon, too soon, it was over and they were pulling apart.

“Fuck baby bird. I’ve wanted to do that…” Jason shook his head, grinning and leaning into to steal another kiss. Tim hummed and Jason could feel him smiling.

Later, when they were laying lazily in the bed with a thick layer of sleep pressing in on them, Tim let up from the soft and erratic presses of lips to give Jason a curious look.

“Why’d you carry me all the way to your room? My room has a perfectly good bed.” Jason opened his mouth to respond but then with crinkled eyebrows and a confused expression he told Tim he really didn’t know.

“My rooms just better I guess.” He added with a smirk.

“Why’d you bring my laptop?”

“Cuz you’re a whiny little bitch and would have ran to get it in to morning otherwise.”

“I am not a whiny little bitch.”

“Yes you are. But you’re my whiny little bitch baby bird.”

“Go to sleep Jay.” Tim said with a roll of his eyes, stretching out beside the older man to sleep.

Jason grinned into Tim’s hair, mulling the question over and tugging Tim closer when his mind supplied a response.

This was  _their_  bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason fought, literally if the bruises on his chest were going to pay any indication, for his day in bed. Tim didn’t  _mean_  to hit so hard trying to get up, but the kid had sharp elbows which would have caused bruises with so much as a nudge. So when Tim’s mental alarm clock rang to wake him and he moved to shove Jason off and begin his day and Jason wouldn’t let go? Elbow to the chest, straight away. Jason really played it up, letting out a deep  _whoosh_ of air and throwing in a groan as he wrapped tighter around Tim to stop his escape.

“That’ll bruise.” He gasped out as he settled himself on top Tim, who had gone very still in reaction to Jason’s response.

“I-it wasn’t  _that_  hard.” Tim managed after a moment, knowing full and well that he had the potential to snap ribs with a  _scarily_  similar hit.

“I dunno,” Jason murmured, tucking his head into Tim’s neck and simply letting it sit there, heavy breathes tickling at the sensitive skin, “it was pretty solid.”

“Jay… I gotta go to school.”

“No.”

“Jason this isn’t an argument.”

“You’re gonna leave me here, lying in bed, potentially injured by  _your_  hand, so you can what? Do fractions?”

“You’re not injured.”

“Sure?” he pulled back a little to look at Tim, “you ain’t gonna do a physical,  _just_  to make sure?” He smirked lecherously down at the younger man, who rolled his eyes and sighed, struggling a little underneath the Jason’s heavier weight.

“Lemme go.” He complained, pushing a little, although admittedly he did so a little lighter than he was before.

“Come on baby bird, why you so desperate to leave me?” Tim stilled again and for a moment Jason was certain Tim was going to answer that and then his chest  _was_ hurting and he reassured himself by saying it was just the bruise setting in and nothing else.

“I can’t stay at home and do nothing all day Jason, that isn’t  _me.”_

“Oh and now I’m nothing, you really know how to flatter a guy.” Jason laughed in response to Tim’s glare and ducked his head once more, this time pressing a small kiss against faintly red skin. Any mark he had left on Tim the night before had been cautionary, soft and simple, but worked like a plan – he knew that when Tim was ready he would bite at the spot that he had marked with soft sucks, that he would leave deep purple marks that would last for days and that even the Robin suit would have trouble hiding.

“I kid baby bird,” hand raced up and over Tim’s side, settling on the other side of his neck lightly, Jason’s thumb tracing over his chin while his lips worked their way to just under Tim’s earlobe, “none of that till you’re good and ready. But that don’t mean I won’t tease you.” He ran sharp teeth over Tim’s ear and felt him take a long, shuddering breath.

Tim moved quickly, so quickly that, although he’d never admit it, Jason missed the movement, flipping them so that Tim was straddled over him, pushing down heavily in a  _very_  appealing manner.

“What if I  _am_  good and ready?” Tm growled and Jason took a moment, his eyes slowly widening. Was he saying what Jason  _thought_  he was saying?

“A-are you…?”

“I’m not a baby Jason. I’m sick of  _waiting_. I never thought  _you_  of all people would be the ‘take it slow’ type.”

“I was waiting on  _you_  baby bird.”

“Well I’m ready.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You said you’re waiting for me. I’m  _telling_  you I’m ready. You want me to stay here in bed with you for the rest of the day? Give me a reason.”

“I’m not reason enough?”

“That’s kinda the point Jay.”

“Baby bird this isn’t what I meant wh-” Tim cut him off, pushing determined lips against his. He wasn’t subtle in the slightest, plunging his tongue into Jason’s mouth, pulling the front of Jason’s shirt into tight fists and very, very determinedly thrusting his hips down, crushing into Jason.

The older man gasped into the action hands flying for Tim’s hips to stop him. But when they settled on the soft skin they weren’t pushing away – they dug in deep, pulling Tim closer. Tim moaned and Jason reacted automatically. He bucked upwards – he  _needed_  to hear that sound again. He was rewarded with another moan, but then Tim was pulling his lips back.

Jason cursed himself mentally as he tried to look as though he  _wasn’t_ currently gasping at air. Too fast, he  _knew_  it was too fast. He knew it and he’d tried to push it anyway. Tim was a  _baby_.

“You taste like rotten eggs. Even the great Jason Todd gets morning breathe hu?” Tim teased, wagglingly his eyebrows. And then he was off the bed and starting for the bathroom, slipping between Jason’s fingers.

“A day in bed does not excuse personal hygiene Jay. I’m having a shower.” He pulled at the hoodie he had somehow managed to slip on during the night, dropping it with a delicate and showy flick of the wrist as he walked with a dancers grace to the bathroom, hips swinging slightly more noticeable than they had been before. He paused in the doorway.

“You’re welcome to join me,” he added, grinning slyly before disappearing into the white tiled room. Jason waited a heartbeat – long enough for the littlest bird to throw his pants out into bedroom in a manner which revealed  _nothing_  but still managed to make Jason swallow, mind swirling with the potential.

He jumped up in the bed, hurriedly and haphazardly crawling over the bunched blankets, all but falling off the end, his well-trained reflexes catching him and pulling him back up. His shirt was off before he hit the bathroom door, water already hissing from the faucet, hot enough to have sent a very thin stream of mist around the room. He padded inside quietly, closing the door behind him and, thinking of Alfred’s tendency to show up whenever he thought a moment required interrupting and how this might just be one of those moments, locked it. He could make out Tim behind the frosted glass, a dark, creamy silhouette against the white tile.

 _Now or never, Jay._

He pushed out of his own pants and stepped toward the shower. And then he  _had_ to pause and it had nothing to do his mental conflicts or his sudden realization that he potentially could screw this whole thing up because he’d never  _been_  with a guy before – the short experience he  _did_  have was with girls, then he’d been  _dead_. He paused because Tim wasn’t facing him, but had his back to him, casually running soap up one arm.

Tim was  _beautiful_. Not hot or cute or any of that bull. He was  _beautiful_. Gorgeous. Perfect. So perfect; well compacted, wiry muscle under taunt skin, pale, so pale, flexing and pulling with every movement of Tim’s arm, the effect only made more mesmerising by the flow of water that cascaded over him.

“Stop staring. I know they’re bad. But it’s part of the job.” He said in a tight voice. Jason blinked and his bubble was burst and he could  _see_. The scars that littered Tim like he’d rolled in a bowl of broken glass, long intrusions on otherwise flawless skin, shallow nicks and permanent mars. And suddenly… Jason wasn’t so worried about hesitations anymore.

He slipped up behind Tim, scalding water smashing against him as he wrapped long arms around Tim’s waist and pressed a kiss over the spot where Tim’s heart was racing just a little too fast.

 _Tell him…_

“You’re beautiful.” Jason murmured into the skin he was now addicted to. He felt Tim tighten in his arms.

“I’m  _damaged_.”

“And I’m a flawless flower petal.” Tim choked out a laugh, shaking his head.

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“With sarcasm.” Jason murmured, his lips sliding to Tim’s shoulder blade. His tongue swirled over a dark scar that sat there and Tim shivered.

“Don’t.” Tim said quietly.

“Don’t what? Kiss you?”

“Not… there. Not  _them_.”

“Baby bird…”

“Please?”

“Why?”

Tim didn’t answer, instead turning in Jason’s grip and sliding up more determinedly against him, kissing him in method of distraction. It worked, wet skin on wet skin throwing Jason’s mind a little askew. He pulled back after a moment and asked the question he already knew the answer too, mouthing along Tim’s collarbone as he did.

“Is this… your…  _first_  too?”  

Tim went a little still and Jason looked up. He looked slightly guilty.  _What._  Jason took a small step backwards to look at him properly.

“What? Who? You’re a  _baby_.”

“I take offence to that.”

“Who was it?”

“K-Kon.”

“ _The Super?!”_  Tim didn’t say anything while Jason absorbed this information, the two of them just standing under the heavy spray of water. Jason stared at Tim, fighting the sudden flare of anger, jealously and let’s face it,  _fear_  – five seconds ago it didn’t matter that he didn’t know what he was doing, because if he screwed up Tim wouldn’t know.  _Fuck!_

“When?” He managed.

“Last year.”

“Ju-just the once?”

“We dated.”

Fuck.

“For how long?”

“Few months.”

Fuck, fuck,  _fuck._

“He didn’t like them.” Tim said quietly after a moment. Jason was startled out of his mental panic.

“What?”

“The scars. You asked why. He didn’t like them. I got used to that. I just assu-”

Jason closed the gap he severely regretted making, cutting Tim off.

“Stop. Just stop. I’m not the god damn super.  _I’m scarred_. I’m ten times as damaged as you and I’m not just talking about the fucking skin. I’m  _messed up_ baby bird. But I’m not so dead brain that I don’t  _like_  the god damn scars – they’re _beautiful_  baby bird. They’re part of you. You know what they tell me? They tell me that you’re not just a pretty face or a big brain. You’re  _strong_. You’re a fighter. You should be proud of every single one of these marks.  _I am._  You’re perfect.”

Jason made a startled noise that settled into a soft laugh behind Tim’s lips when the younger boy launched at him, curling around him and kiss fiercely.

“You’re such a sap.” Tim managed after a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. Jason pushed him against the shower wall, kissing at a prominent scar on the top of Tim’s chest to prove a point.

“No I’m not.”

“Really?” Tim breathed as Jason’s lips trailed higher.

“Shut up baby bird.” Jason pressed tighter against Tim and he did stop talking but he wasn’t completely  _silent._ Jason was ran his hands over Tim, breaking though streams of steady water, lips exploring and Tim would moan, so soft Jason almost couldn’t hear it over the shower.

Tim hooked a leg around Jason’s waist, higher than he should have been able to reach and Jason grabbed at his other leg instinctively, pulling him up and pushing him harder against the wall for security when Tim wrapped strong legs around him. It was slightly harder, with the tiles being slick and slippery, but Jason was strong and Tim’s grip was firm. Jason found his hands could still roam freely.

“Jay…” Jason tried to hide his nervousness. He  _knew_ where this was going, how Tim planned it out. But really… what did he  _do_?

“Guide me baby bird.” He watched the red spreading across Tim’s cheeks.

“Give me your hand.” Jason threaded his fingers through Tim’s and watched if for a moment before meeting Tim’s eyes. It was hypnotic, staring into the depth of blue, to feel Tim pulling his hand around and under. Jason understood  _exactly_ what Tim wanted a few seconds later.

Tim gasped and bit his lip when Jason pushed one finger slowly inside.

“Good?”

“God yes.” Jason watched Tim closely as he moved his hand, watching for pain. His expressions were intoxicating and Jason was sure he could get off just on watching.

“More Jay.” He groaned after a few minutes. Jason smirked as though he wasn’t painfully hard against Tim and pushed a second finger in, stretching Tim out, curling his fingers around, twisting and pushing and experimenting. Tim gasped at one point, digging dull nails into Jason’s back and Jason repeated the action that caused that sound, earning him a deep moan, the kind that vibrates through your chest and shutters down your spine.

“Jason please…” Jason pushed in a third finger and Tim’s head fell back against the tile, his legs tightening.

“Not enough, not enough…” Jason’s breath caught and he licked his lips.

He shifted Tim in his grip, pulling out his fingers and lining himself up, pressing his cock against Tim’s entrance but not entering.

“Ready?” Jason asked. Tim pushed down, trying to speed Jason up.

“Stop being so careful,” Tim growled, hands curling in Jason’s hair almost painfully tight, and grinning in a way that made Jason shivers spin up and down Jason’s spine, “I don’t mind if you’re a little rough. I  _like_  it.” He pulled Jason in for a kiss, locking their lips together as Jason pressed inside. He groaned into Jason’s mouth, pushing himself down, trying to force Jason deeper.

Oh god that was amazing. Jason closed his eyes, pausing and just sat in the feeling for a moment, settling in the heat, the feeling that Tim was almost vibrating around him in anticipation. And then he started to rock, steady and rhythmic, pulling out to almost just the head before pushing back to the hilt, with excruciating slowness.

He started to speed under Tim’s gasped and moaned demands, getting lost in the sensation. It was hard, trying to keep Tim up against the wall and give it everything he had, but it was worth it. He wanted to help Tim over the edge, to rub and push at the erection currently jutting into his stomach but he feared if he pulled his hand away from Tim’s hip for even the shortest period of time the younger man would fall. He leaned forward, whispering into Tim’s ear, his teeth just scrapping across his lobe.

“Touch yourself baby bird.” Tim made a positively delightful noise at that, one hand leaving Jason’s neck and trailing down the older man’s chest until he reached his point. Jason looked down, curious as Tim’s hand curled around himself, pumping in time with Jason’s thrusts. It was… mouth-watering, and the sight made a deeper heat curl in his stomach.

He pressed his forehead against Tim’s and pushed deeper still.  He wasn’t going last much longer. Tim’s hand sped up as if he could sense Jason slowly losing it.

“I-I’m gonna…”

“Come on Jay…”

His legs shuttered and he shook, tremors running under his skin his head bent and shoulders tight. Tim clenched around him when he came, hot and heavy and desperate.

“Tim…” he whimpered. Tim made a noise, deep in the back of his throat, a startled choking which became a hard moan, spilling between them. They just stood in the beating, now icy water, breathing heavily, foreheads pressed together.

Jason had no idea how he was still standing, let alone  _holding_  Tim up, his legs shaking lightly. Tim’s legs uncurled from around his back and he moved, pulling himself so that Jason slipped from him and setting his feet on the ground, but he pulled Jason against him as soon as he was steady, mouthing lazily along the older man’s chin.

“We used all the hot water.” Tim murmured, grinning into Jason’s throat. Jason chuckled, the sound deeper than he remembered, reaching around Tim to shut off the water. He waited five seconds for a familiar gurgling sound to run through the pipes before spinning them back on again, the now scalding water causing Tim to jump.

“You really thing Wayne Manor is gonna run out of hot water? Bruce just had a limit installed when Dick was here. You gotta know how to trick the system.” Tim laughed lightly and Jason smiled down at him.

“So, shower for real now? With soap and everything?” It was Jason’s turn to laugh.

“Yeah, yeah I guess.” He reached for the soap but paused before he actually started.

“Better than the super?” He asked before he could stop himself. Tim just smirked at him.

“Answer the question.” Tim took the soap, turning away to hide his light giggles.

“That isn’t funny baby bird, tell me.” Tim’s shoulders shook a little as he held in laughter.

“If you remain silent I will just assume that I am.” Tim didn’t respond.

“Damn straight.”  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They touched. Always touching, the whole day. Not even sexually, although they did that too. Just… always in contact. Even when they couldn’t  _actually_  be touching, simply for convenience, like when they were eating, they sat pressed against each other like cats seeking warmth. Jason wondered, at one point, whether this could be considered clingy, because he really didn’t think of it in that way. Then he decided it wasn’t and that he was cold, pulling Tim closer and disregarding the blanket with hands reach.

He liked it, the constant contact. It reverberated through his skin, a constant heat. He  _liked_  it; when he ran a hand over Tim and it felt like they matched calloused skin on scars; when he looked down at couldn’t see whose leg belonged to whom. Marred skin on marred skin, the only difference marked by Jason’s slight tan, which was severely deficient after the last few weeks being trapped inside. They were both broken, one a little more so than the other. Beaten and bent out of shape to the point that they were almost unrecognizable.

But it was okay.

Because they might be broken, and they might be bent but they weren’t  _defeated_. Their new shapes snapped them together like puzzle pieces so that they fit perfectly. It was like Tim covered all the sharp corners and pointed pains, folding over them to make them soft and rounded.

“You’re staring.” Tim murmured and Jason had to smile. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t really asleep, laying at an angle across the bed with his head resting lightly on Jason’s hip, the book he had been reading tilted to the side when he slipped into a light repose – there was no way Tim could know Jason was staring.

“I have a good view.” Tim cracked one eye open and smirked up at him.

“Mines not half bad either…” He laughed when Jason rolled his eyes and turned his head to press a kiss into Jason’s hip bone before picking up his book once more. 

“You mind if I stare?” Jason asked, running a hand through Tim’s hair – he could just reach it comfortably from this angle. The perfect fit.

“As long as you don’t start sparkling in the sun.”

“What?”

“It’s a book ref… oh never mind. It’s too hard to explain, you missed it being dead.”

And that was their day. Exactly like that.

Few words, light touches, lazy exchanges.

They slept, because Tim  _had_  woken them early, despite Jason’s best efforts, twined together. They dressed only when Alfred warned them he was coming up with food and even then the clothes had only lasted a few hours. Tim used his laptop to email his teachers, telling them he was sick with a contagious illness and could return when the stage of contagion had passed. He’d sat with Jason pressed into his back, arms around his waist and chin on his shoulder while he typed.

Sometimes they’d be sitting, just pressed together or touching only slightly and Tim would look over at Jason for a moment before crashing forward, kissing him long and hard, until they both struggled for air. Then he’d smile and nudge the older man with his nose lightly and settle closer, snuggling into or more likely over Jason’s chest.

Jason sucked the marks he’d mapped the night before more permanently onto Tim’s skin. He created a long red line along the left side Tim’s throat which would darken and bruise – it was a match to the scar Jason had gained, the one that had only just been freed from bandages and would be there forever. Tim didn’t seem to mind though, simply kissing the twin spot on Jason’s neck when the older man was done.

The day passed slowly, lazy and perfect.

Jason was content.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _“Baby bird?” It was freezing. Why was Tim on the roof?_

 _“I won’t stay.” I moved closer but for every step closer that I took Tim took one closer to the edge. What building were they on? How did they get here?_

 _“What are you talking about? Come away from the edge, please…” Why was he walking away from me?_

 _Tim looked over the edge. I could hear traffic, cars beeping and swerving. This building as to be at least ten stories up, judging by the sound._

 _“If I fell… would you catch me?”_

 _“Always. Come here… you’re freaking me out.”_

 _“What if you couldn’t?” Tim looked up and he was… different. I felt my stomach clench. This was wrong. I couldn’t speak._

 _“What if you can’t save me? What if I fall?”_

 _“I won’t let you.”_

 _“But if I di-”_

 _“I won’t let you. I’ll always save you.”_

 _“Why?” Tim cocked his head like he didn’t know._

 _“Because you’re mine baby bird. I need you.” Tim looked away again, back over the edge._

 _“Would you die for me?”_

 _“Yes.” I didn’t have to think about it. I’ve been dead. I’ve died for less. If it meant saving him, I would do anything._

 _“I won’t stay.”_

 _“Stop saying that.”_

 _“I’ll fall.”_

 _“I’ll catch you.” He looked back up at me._

 _“Then catch me.” He tipped backward, arms spread wide. I launched forward to stop him but he had already slipped too far. I threw myself after him, managing to grab hold._

 _And we fell._

Jason jolted awake, gasping in a deep breath and  _knew_  something was wrong. The bed was empty, the room dark with the dead of night. He looked over to Tim’s side and there was a note on the pillow.

 **You said _day_  in bed.**

 **It’s night – I have patrol.**

 **Back around 2. Be good.**

 **T.**

Patrol. No shaking that, you couldn’t blow off batman for to spend the day making out with your boyfriend the way Jason could force Tim to blow off school. Jason let out a long, slow breath trying to calm down from his dream, unable to shake the feeling that something was  _wrong._  He slipped out of bed, actually dressing properly, as if he were going to go out, shoes and all. He didn’t know why. He just… did.

He wandered around the house uselessly for a while before finding himself in the cave, fiddling with the new controls that he didn’t quite recognize, mostly out of boredom. There was a sudden burst of static.

“Shit!” Jason tried hitting a few more buttons until the sound shut itself off. He stared, breathing heavily, at the controls for a few minutes before

“Jay?” He grinned.

“Well if it isn’t baby bird.”

“This is a secure line JT, get off.” Jason jumped when he heard Bruce.

“JT?! Who am I, Justin Timberlake?”

“Get  _off_.”

“Well I suppose I  _did_  bring sexy back.” No response to that.

“You too out together then?” Jason said with a cocky laugh as he took a seat in the chair by the controls.

“No, we’re separated, opposite sides of the city.” Tim said.

“ _Hence_ the secure line.” Bruce added irritably.

“Oh, okay, well, I won’t bother you…”

“Sure you won’t.” Bruce said unhappily. He waited in silence for a minute.

“Hey, Batdude, why is this chair so overlordy ‘I will enslave you and all your people’ like? You got a dominatrix kink or something?”

“God damn it.” Bruce said. Jason was too busy grinning at Tim smothered laugh on the other end.

“Come to think of it, you like leather a little  _too_  much.”

“I am cutting this line. Robin, move across.”

“Yes sir.” There was a buzzing sound and then silence and Jason frowned at the table, wondering if he could find a way to switch the lines again.

“Jay, that was really irresponsible.” Jason stopped looking and leaned back into the leather.

“Yeah, but it was  _fun_. I thought you were swapping lines?”

“I can switch between channels.”

“What if daddy bat calls? Your being awful  _irresponsible_  there baby bird.”

“Oh ha, ha, ha.”

“You’re breaking the rules. Also, sneaking out while I was  _sleeping?_  How very one night stand of you.”

“Would you have let me go if you were awake?”

“Nope.”

“Exactly.” Jason laughed at his serious tone. He was okay with this. He could hand around the cave when Tim was out… that was one way to make sure he came home safe.

He stayed on the line, listening for hours while Tim patrolled, his heart jumping every time Tim took out dealer or dealt with a mugger. But Tim wasn’t an idiot – he was well trained, and god he was  _smart_. He was never in any real danger.

“Okay, got the all clear head home message.” Tim said around one am.

“How far are you?”

“So impatient! I’m about fifteen minutes away.”

“Hurry.”

“Naturally.” Jason relaxed into the chair, fully relaxed, realizing that he had been ever so slightly tense the whole session. Tim was coming home.

“Woah, woah, woah, hold up here.” Jason blinked.

“Oh great. A deal.” There was hurried knockings and then the sound of Tim landing. Jason’s heart caught in his chest. Damn it.

“Alright…” Tim drawled lazily, as though bored, “can we get this over and done with quickly? I have places to be.”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the boy wonder. We were just talking about you.”

“Good to know I’m popular. Now, would you like a regular beating, or should I break something so you have memories?

“How about you hang around a while?”

“Did you not hear me? Places to be.”

“That wasn’t an option.” The sounds of a scuffle rang out and Jason found himself gripping the arms of the chair. Not being able to see was  _killing_  him.

“Ah— fuck!” Jason froze, his breath catching.

“Wh-what was that? WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Tim was shouting. He wasn’t in control.

“Don’t try to fight it kid. You’re gonna be knocked out in a few minutes.”

“You—” there was the sound of heavier fighting and then a crash as something hit banged in garbage cans.

“Jay, they stuck me. I dunno what was in the needle. It… I can’t… I need backup. I need… help.”

“I’m coming baby bird.”

He looked down at the band around his wrist, the one that kept him from leaving this stupid place. Surely there had to be some way of getting it off. He’d tried everything, examined it for hours on end with no success. The bracelet had  _one_ weak point which, if hit with enough force, would break it off.

Problem was Jason would have to just about shoot himself in the wrist if he wanted that.

He moved quickly.

Batman didn’t hold guns but that didn’t mean he didn’t  _have_  them. The sound of Tim fighting and struggling was filling the cave, echoing around him – he couldn’t escape it, he was  _drowning_  in it. He needed to get out, to help him, to save him, to catch him.

He would  _not_  let Tim fall.

“He’s running.”

“Eh, let him run. That shit in his system? He won’t get two blocks. We can just pick him up.”

He found it, Tim’s panting as he ran ringing loudly in Jason’s ears. He aimed, his hand shaking as he placed the barrel against the weak point in the bracelet.

God damn.

He licked his lips, staring at it.

Fuck.

He could hear Tim stumbling, listening as he heavily collapsed against something, his breathing laboured.

He pulled the gun away, shaking his hand a little before putting it back, his breaths speeding and his heart racing.

“Come on…” He growled at himself.

“Jay…”

“I’m coming baby bird I swear to god.” He heard echoing food steps, like people lazily wandering down an alley way.

“Ahhh… looks like we clipped the little bird’s wings.” There was laughter.

“Help… me…”

The shaking stopped.

 _“Would you catch me?”_

“P-please…”

His heart stilled; his breath stopping.

There was a rough sound and the communicator went silent.

He fired.

\--

 

\--

 

 _“Always.”_


End file.
